LOS ANGELES — The Kings held Connor McDavid to zero points on only two shots; Game 2 was all LA.
The Kings took down the Edmonton Oilers 6-2 on Wednesday night, continuing to unleash the power play and limit the duo of McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to the best of the Kings’ abilities. They killed off three Oilers power plays, holding the unit scoreless in five opportunities through the first two games.
Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch put McDavid and Draisaitl together on the first line, while Evander Kane returned to action for the first time since the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.
Brandt Clarke scored his first career playoff goal in his second career playoff game, finding a slot feed from Warren Foegele to get the scoring started. Just like in Game 1, the Kings dominated the first half of the match, as Quinton Byfield and Andrei Kuzmenko followed up Clarke’s tally with goals of their own to make it 3-0.
“Right when I got back to the bench, the guys were saying congratulations to me,” Clarke said. “The coaches made sure, ‘let’s get back to square one here, same job, you’ve got your next shift coming up here,’ and I think I did a good job.”
Edmonton scored two unanswered goals from Draisaitl and Viktor Arvidsson to bring the game within one, but LA’s first line dominated the rest of the way, as Adrian Kempe scored twice along with Anže Kopitar to give the Kings the 6-2 advantage.
Kempe scored on his first shot on Calvin Pickard, who relieved starting goalie Stuart Skinner. Skinner was pulled in the third period after saving 23 of 28 looks. Kempe tallied four points, bringing him up to a whopping seven through the first two games.
Darcy Kuemper saved 24 of 26 shots for the Kings, who have scored six goals in each of the first two games.
“I think we’re just sticking to the plan. We’re being even-keeled up there and when we get our opportunities, we’re capitalizing on them,” Foegele said. Guys have got to keep doing that, keep getting pucks on net and keep sticking to the plan.”
LA’s three power-play goals overwhelmed Edmonton’s penalty kill. The Kings now have five extra-man goals with the five-forward unit in the series.
While the series isn’t over, the Kings’ ability to continue their home composure sets them up well heading into a tough Edmonton environment.
“Just generally, overall, we’re playing pretty good, solid hockey, offensively and defensively, I think both parts are there,” said head coach Jim Hiller
Talk of Troy reporter Kasey Kazliner was at Game 2 and broke it down on Skate of Thrones, TOT’s LA Kings podcast.